Justice Secretary Simeon Datumanong has hailed the approval on third reading of Senate Bill No. 2018 authored by Senator Francis Pangilinan.

The bill sought to standardize or increase the salary of justices and judges to a level commensurate to the dignity of the court and the gravity of the task.

It likewise looked forward to bringing about immediate reforms and changes resulting in the better and more efficient dispensation of justice in the country.

Datumanong said that once approved into law, the legislative action would entice brilliant lawyers and practitioners to join the judiciary.

He said there were a number of unfilled court vacancies in many judicial districts in Mindanao and the Visayas, a reason why there has been a growing backlog of unresolved cases in those areas.

In supporting the bill’s passage, the Justice Secretary noted the length of time the salary of judges and court personnel have remained in its present level.

This had spawned non-interest among qualified lawyers to join the judicial branch of government, thus jeopardizing the delivery of judicial services and derailing the prevention of crime.

The World Health Organization (WHO) today stressed that it "does not recommend any restrictions on travel to the Philippines," because of the dreaded Sever Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

In a statement reaching Malacanang, the WHO’s Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response (CSR) unit said the WHO had considered the cluster of SARS cases in the country as "well contained."

"There appears to be no increased transmission risk in the Philippines," the CSR noted.

As of May 10, the Philippines has reported a cumulative total of 10 probable SARS cases, with two deaths, the WHO-CSR statement said.

Health authorities have determined that all 10 cases were part of a chain of transmission linked to a single imported case. All cases were placed in isolation in hospital.

The WHO-CSR added that the contacts of the 10 cases have been traced, and authorities were confident that all contacts have been identified and placed in isolation.

The last two cases that could have transmitted infection were isolated on April 30. All contacts have completed their period of observation and none has developed SARS, the agency said.

The cluster of SARS cases in the Philippines began with the importation of a case who returned to the Philippines from Toronto, Canada. The imported case died from SARS, as did her father.